Page 25 of Sev’s Blackmailed Bride (The Dante Dynasty #1)

M orning found Sev in bed wrapped around Francesca in a complicated tangle of arms and legs. He had a vague recollection of scraping her boneless body off the carpet and tossing her over his shoulder before staggering to the bedroom. Or maybe they’d just crawledhere.

She stirred within his embrace and flopped onto her back with a groan. He smiled at the sight. She’d gone to bed with damp hair and now it surrounded her head like a fluffy halo. Something told him she wouldn’t appreciate her appearance anywhere near as much as hedid.

His smile faded as a new and unfamiliar realization took hold.

Last night their relationship had changed, achange that went way beyond what it had been before, on either the work front or as former lovers.

Somehow, it had shifted them into an entirely new realm, arealm neither of them anticipated.

“Who glued my eyes shut?” She forced one open. “Hey, we’re in bed. ”

“Excellent observation.”

“How’d we get here?”

“Beats the hell out of me.”

“Maybe I carried you in before I had my wicked way with you. Again.”

He grinned. “That’s entirely possible.”

“Is it just me?” She hesitated, an innate wariness flickering like a warning light. “Or did something peculiar happen to us last night? Even more peculiar than The Inferno, Imean. Although how that’s even possible is beyond me.”

He framed her face, tracing the delicate bone structure with his fingertips until the shape and texture became as familiar to him as his own. The need to remain in physical contact with her had become an urge he no longer bothered resisting. The Inferno hadwon.

“I believe we both realized the truth last night,” he admitted.

She regarded him with some reservation. “Which is?”

“This isn’t going away.” He lifted her left hand and studied the engagement ring she wore. The inner fire seemed to erupt from the center of the diamond, fiercer than he’d ever seen it before. “Maybe we should consider making this permanent. ”

He absorbed her jerk of surprise, felt her heart rate kick up a notch. “Are you serious?”

“I think it’s worth discussing, don’t you?”

A small smile played at the corners of her mouth. It grew until her entire face radiated with it. “I wouldn’t mind,” she admitted softly.

On the nightstand table, his cell emitted a soft buzz and Sev swore beneath his breath. “I should have left the damn thing in the other room.”

She jackknifed upward and snatched a swift kiss. “Go ahead and take it while I get cleaned up.”

“You sure?”

“Positive.”

She bounced off the bed and darted into the bathroom. Her muffled shriek of dismay put a grin on his face. Something told him she’d just discovered a mirror. He snagged the phone and took the call. “This better be good,” he growled.

“It’s Lazz. And it’s not good. In fact, it’s an effing mess. If you’d bothered to come to work this morning—”

“Get to the point,” Sev interrupted.

“Seriously, bro, what the hell are you doing and why aren’t you here? There is a fan sitting on my desk cranked to high and you can’t believe what just hit it. ”

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s Francesca.”

Hell. He glanced toward the bathroom. Water ran in the sink and he could hear her humming, the sound light and happy and slightly off-key. “What’s the problem?”

“Bloom’s rep called. They’ve decided to go with Timeless.”

“Not good, but we knew winning that account would be a long shot. What’s it got to do with Francesca?”

At the sound of her name, she appeared in the doorway.

She’d tamed her hair, much to his disappointment and, even more disappointing, slipped on one of his shirts.

She shot him a questioning look as she rolled up the sleeves, an incandescent happiness pouring off her in waves.

After the meeting with Kurt, he didn’t think she’d ever find joy again.

But she had, and it humbled him that she found it in hisarms.

“Francesca’s the one who convinced Bloom to go with TH,” Lazzsaid.

Sev shot off the bed. “Not a chance.”

“I’m dead serious. Sev, Ispoke to the rep. Personally.”

He bowed his head and stared at the floor.

“She wouldn’t have done that. Iwant you to double-check, Lazz.

Triple-check, if that’s what it takes. Find out why Bloom’s rep would lie to you.

” And then he looked up, straight into Francesca’s eyes.

What hovered there in the shadowed darkness had him breaking off with a word he’d never normally use in her presence.

He hit the disconnect button. “Lazz doesn’t need to triple-check, does he? Bloom’s rep told him the truth.”

His shirt hung on her, making her appear small and fragile.

Or maybe it was the barriers she slammed back in place.

He never realized how utterly they enshrouded her until she emerged from their protective folds.

Last night she’d bared herself in a way she never had before, not in all the time they’d been together.

Francesca shook her head. “There’s no point in his checking again.”

“You contacted Juliet Bloom’s representative?” At her nod, he hit her with his accusation. “You advised her to go with Timeless.”

“Yes. Iguaranteed she wouldn’t lose if she did so. That it would only benefit her.”

He lifted an eyebrow. “Payback, Francesca?” he asked softly.

She tilted her chin to a combative angle and fixed him with a cool, remote gaze that shot his blood pressure straight through the roof. “I prefer to call it insurance. ”

“Explain,” he rapped out.

“Timeless Heirlooms owns the designs that Juliet Bloom is so crazy about. The ones I created. She wants to wear them in her next film. Dantes plans to purchase TH, not put them out of business, so Timeless will endure regardless of ownership. Once the company is safely tucked back into the Dantes’ fold, you’ll receive the continued benefit from having someone of Bloom’s caliber as your spokeswoman. ”

“If we tuck TH back into the Dantes’ fold,” he corrected tightly. “That’s a big, fat effing if!”

“You’ve already assured me it’s going to happen, regardless of me, or the Fontaines, or even Juliet Bloom.” She lifted an eyebrow. “A lie, Sev?”

His back teeth clamped together. “It’s no lie.”

“Then what’s the problem?” She stepped from the bathroom, wary enough to keep her distance.

Smart woman. “All I’ve done is ensure that you honor the contract we signed and pay the Fontaines a fair price for TH.

Now that Bloom’s agreed to be the spokeswoman for them, Kurt and Tina will reunite.

They’ll have no other choice if they want that contract.

Knowing Tina as I do, she won’t let a little thing like an illegitimate daughter stand in the way of a deal of this magnitude. ”

“It will, however, make it more difficult for me to acquire TH.”

She graciously conceded the point, which had him backing up a step so he wouldn’t give in to temptation and throttle her.

“But it will happen. And when that day comes, since I work for you, I’m also available to work with Ms. Bloom should she wish to expand the current collection I designed for her.

Or I can create a whole new line for her at some point in the future.

And if you don’t buy out TH, Ms. Bloom will most likely jump ship and become Dantes’ spokeswoman, since I now work for you.

As far as I can tell, everyone comes out of this a winner. ”

“Except for you.”

That stopped her. About damn time. “What are you talking about?” For the first time a hint of uncertainty crept into her voice.

“I’m talking about the fact that I have the option to either fire you, in which case I’ll see to it that you don’t work in the industry for the next two years. Or I can transfer you to another office. Either way, Bloom will no longer be your problem.”

“Which do you intend to do?”

Francesca asked the question so calmly, if he didn’t know better he’d have thought she didn’t care.

But if he’d learned nothing else about her, he had learned that designing jewelry was as much a part of her as her heart or soul.

In fact, it was her soul. He couldn’t take that away from her, no matter how badly her actions had hurthim.

And they had hurt him. This wasn’t about business, anymore.

In fact, she’d shown a ruthlessness he could almost admire.

Aruthlessness he, himself, had been forced to employ on occasion.

No, this had become personal. It felt personal.

It felt as though he’d risked opening himself to her, only to have her use what she’d learned to hurthim.

“I believe there’s a spot open for you in our New York office. I’ll make your transfer effective immediately.”

She jerked as though he’d struck her, staring at him for an endless moment with huge, wounded eyes. Without a word, she turned on her heel and moved through the apartment, gathering her possessions. Sev hardened himself as he waited for her to finish and leave.

Even so, it tore him apart watching her. One more rejection. One more door slammed in her face. Once more out in the proverbial cold. They made one hell of apair.

He scoured his face with his hands. All the while, The Inferno consumed him, raging with the urge to go to her. To fix this. To take her back into his arms and make her his again. His jaw tightened. The hell with it. This was just one more roadblock. Ahuge one, granted. But surely they could—

The front door opened and quietly closed, locking behind her. Sev charged into the living room, but she was gone, leaving nothing behind but a cold gleam emanating from the fireplace. Sitting on the hearth he found the engagement ring he’d given her. He crossed the room and picked itup.

Maybe it was his imagination, but he could have sworn the fire deep within the heart of the diamond had dimmed.